Logic inverters may be used as a driver and/or buffer circuitry between local and/or remote printed circuit boards (PCBs), e.g., between a micro controller and remote equipment. Moreover, logic inverters may provide additional current driving capability to cope with the passive loss, additive noise picked up by PCB traces, and distortion associated with interconnect cables and electrostatic discharge (ESD) protection components.
However, during the installation of devices, faulty operating conditions such as over-voltage and/or short circuits may occur, e.g., due to operator mishandling, stress on the logic converter circuitry, ESD events, inadvertent contact with a power supply, etc. As a result, the power supply voltage may be directly applied to the digital input/output signal terminal by mistake, thereby injecting and/or drawing excessive current. This may cause serious damage to the input/output interface circuitry of equipment, usually rendering the inverter totally useless. Installations with hand-stripped wires are especially prone to such damage.